


tsundere (5+1 fic)

by tsuluio



Category: Splatoon
Genre: 5+1 Things, Fluff, Gay, Hurt/Comfort a little, M/M, crack fic a little, cyan team are gamers and weebs dont @ me, i don't want to tag the other characters bc theyre minor appearances, idk what im doing, rated T for swear words
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-29
Updated: 2019-07-29
Packaged: 2020-07-24 22:21:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,458
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20021959
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tsuluio/pseuds/tsuluio
Summary: Five times Mask told Aloha he hated him and one time he didn't.





	tsundere (5+1 fic)

**Author's Note:**

> this ship always interested me in their dynamic haha it's abt time i wrote them in all their moronic gay glory

1.

Whoever thought Pink Team and Cyan Team belonged in the same room together deserved to have their face shoved into a toaster. Pounding music coupled with video game noises and shouts that make this room smaller than it already is, and Mask is pretty sure half the furniture is broken already. He can stand his teammates and their antics most of the time but coupled with Aloha's team? 

Definitely not.

Someone has gotten hold of the vacuum cleaner and is currently dragging huge marks in the wallpaper. Mask absolutely _hates_ that wallpaper; it's too bright, too cheerful, but all he wants to do is take that squid and throw them into the stove.

He needs to stop thinking about murdering people via kitchen appliances.

But _still._ There's something undeniably nice about this, and as much as the cyan Inkling hates to admit it, it's a bit endearing. He watches as Full Moon pulls a meter stick out of nowhere, engaging that one girl -- Straw? Mask doesn't know Aloha's teammates nearly as well as he does his own. They're all the same to him: loud, obnoxious, rowdy, and absolute pain in the ass -- in a mock sword fight, quoting some random movie that Mask is too far away to hear. Jersey joins in a moment later with a weapon she has crafted out of cardboard. It's something she created a long time ago, something when she was in her Overwatch phase and decided to input herself into the game. The coding isn't half bad, not as bad as her weapon design, which, in Mask's opinion, needs a lot more work.

But she seems to be having fun, and Mask rolls his eyes as Jersey casually swings her weapon and catches Full Moon in the chest. This dissolves into the two girls arguing over the weapon while Straw heads back into the fray of Pink Team madness.

Aloha, despite it all, is sober, and while Mask wouldn't put it past him to produce some random drink out of nowhere, it's a relief to see him actually in his element, not currently making out with whatever teammates happened to be closest to him.

He forgets for a moment why they're here in the first place. Oh. Right. 

It was a party thrown by Aloha, of course, and it was a brilliant idea to make it in an arcade, the same arcade that Cyan Team had been technically residing in for three days now. Aloha knew, he _knew_ Mask's team practically lived there, and the smirk stretched widely on his face as he paraded through the double doors makes Mask want to swing his controller at the other.

The other members of Cyan Team didn't want to leave, even when Mask suggested it, they all just shrugged or went back to their games, only getting caught up in the festivities when Scuba -- Mask only knows his name because of the stupid snorkel mask -- redirected all the water in the building into a makeshift hose and sprayed Des down with it. This caused a high pitched shriek that probably shattered every window in the building and then Des was tackling Scuba to the ground, the latter cackling with laughter. Chaos ensued after that, and Mask just pressed himself into the farthest corner imaginable to watch everything play out.

Full Moon has propped her phone on a rickety stool and she and Scuba are currently acting out vines, terrible terrible videos that somehow gain way too much attention. Mask watches as Aloha shoves them both aside to reenact Tik Toks, which the other two gladly join in. 

These squids. He hates them all.

Niceness forgotten, he watches in absolute disgust as Aloha beams at Jersey, telling her something that Mask is too far away to hear, and he resists the urge to walk over there to know exactly what this party animal is saying to his teammate. The loathing for the pink Inkling is enough to make him stand and almost make good on his intention before Aloha sees him.

Oh no. No, no, no. Get away from him.

"Heyy, Mask!" Aloha slings an arm around the cyan Inkling and starts to drag him towards the middle of the room. "So glad you could join us!"

Mask tries to pry himself out of Aloha's grip, but the pink Inkling is unnaturally strong. "Fuuuuuck off."

"Maybe, if you ask nicely," Aloha says, and gives Mask that grin that he hates _so much_. "But you can't just stand around and watch! Join in on the fun~"

"I'd rather be stuuuuuck watching a rom com for moooovie night," Mask says, and immediately regrets it when Aloha's eyes light up.

"Then let's do that! I'm sure Army and Skull won't mind~~"

Mask just sighs, the noise hissing through the filters of his headgear. "I hate yoooou. So muuuch."

2.

The S4 doesn't work well together; Mask can admit that without even trying to lie. They're all leaders of their respective teams, and while he doesn't mind Skull leading, he can tell the other two are a bit iffy on that.

They're all in charge, though, in a way. Skull with the actual turfing and strategizing on the field, Army with the team meetings and possible gameplay, Mask with directing frontline through the traps he sees the enemy team place down, and Aloha? Now that he thinks of it, he doesn't know what Aloha does. Dancing. Doing backflips. Avoiding getting hit. But other than that? Nothing.

They've finally gotten a win streak, and the entire other team somehow has tenta missiles. Mask can't respawn without having to stay within the protective shield as he gets targeted every five seconds. He's fast since his roller provides him the speed he needs, but trying to navigate the middle ground of Goby Arena with tenta missiles and opponents closing in on him isn't the best circumstance to be in.

Skull manages to take down half the team as they respawn but it's not going to be enough. Army is currently invading their base and Aloha superjumps to help him, beating Mask to it. The previously cyan Inkling just grumbles and circles back around to take out a poor attempt to splat Skull. A loud _booyah_ goes up from the enemy side and Mask barely has to glance up to know Army had been splatted, and Aloha probably took out whoever was the culprit, showing his support by screaming at the top of his lungs. Army booyahs back, but it's more subdued, and Skull booyahs simply because he's Skull. 

Mask absolutely refuses to booyah back.

It's the wrong move to make, because now Aloha is at his heels, just booyahing at him whenever he feels like it. He turns to try to get away from the tenta missiles bearing down on him and almost trips over Aloha. Since the two are extremely close together, Mask has no time to recover before both his and Aloha's targets land, splatting him.

He respawns, briefly contemplating throwing Aloha over the side at the next match they play. Aloha is still alive, probably because of those inhuman reflexes, and it more than pisses Mask off. He's too lazy to properly yell at Aloha so he just ventures out of the spawn once the ink stops landing on the spawn barrier.

Tenta missiles. Again. He's getting tired of this. He manages to splat someone while they're holding their gridlocker, but he doesn't get to them in time before they release it. The familiar circles appear around his feet and he runs, carbon roller in front of him, paving a path of purple ink. An enemy drop in front of him as the tenta missiles near his location and he internally groans. He doesn't have time for this. But before he can raise his roller to splat them, or before the tenta missiles inevitably strike, a purple blur tackles him, a hand grabbing him by the arm and physically dragging him to the other side of the main area.

When the ink clears, he finds Aloha so close to him, he stumbles back. "Whaaat the--"

"You're welcome~" Aloha winks at him before dashing off, leaving Mask to stare blankly at the scene in front of him. Remnants of the opponent's gear is just now vanishing into the ground and the splotches of enemy ink around is enough for the masked Inkling to put two and two together. Aloha just dragged him from being splatted. But why?

It was insanely stupid, because being splatted wasn't fun and it had its drawbacks, but this was a _game_ that Mask didn't really care too much if they won or lost. It wasn't life and death, and it wasn't even a video game where you had limited lives. Why the shell would Aloha even do that?

The game ends, the S4 win, and they're fully out of the lobby before Mask even bothers to turn to Aloha. He hates initiating conversations with the pink Inkling, because he never seemed to know when to shut up, but curiosity is the main thing on his mind.

"What waaas that fooor?"

"What?" Aloha looks up from his phone. "What was what for?"

Mask sighs heavily. "What you pulled baaack there. Dragging me froooom the tentaa missiles?"

"Oh! That." Aloha grins at him and Mask wants to smack it off of him. "You're welcome."

"Youuu already saaaid that."

"I know. You owe me now~"

"Whaaat? No, thaaat was your ooown fault. Youuu didn't neeed to be so stuuupid."

Aloha just shrugs, that infuriatingly light grin on his face. "I don't hear you thankin' me~"

Mask growls, but he knows he won't win this one. "Fiiine. Thanks. Buuut I still haaate you."

Aloha laughs and the sound makes Mask wince from the noise. "You're welcome!"

"Youuu said thaaat three time nooow."

"I know~"

Cod, he can't _stand_ Aloha.

3.

"Mask!" Aloha's at his door again, and the cyan Inkling wants nothing more for the other to _shut up and go away_. 

"Gooo away."

"Not until you open the door~!"

Mask pulls himself away from his computer to open the door. Aloha is standing in his doorway -- or rather, he's wedged between both side of the doorway, legs almost standing in splits as he hovers there. Mask just stares at him for a solid two seconds before slamming the door shut again.

He can hear Aloha banging on it. "Mask!"

"Stooooop floating in my doooorway." He doesn't go back to the computer and instead just stands there, waiting for Aloha to do something. The pink Inkling is growing on him and he hates it.

"You won't open the damned door, so what else was I supposed to do to occupy myself?"

The answer is obvious.

"Siiimple. Go awaaay."

"Mask, c'mon!" Aloha whines, and Mask rolls his eyes even if the other can't see it. "I'll let you beat me up in Super Smash Bros if you come out of your room."

The offer is tempting, oh so tempting. The cyan Inkling isn't allowed to attack Aloha physically, not after Army instituted that rule a while ago that was brought on by Mask trying to shove Aloha into the oven for breaking his desk. The only compromise for that was to beat Aloha in video games, which the pink Inkling never really seemed to care. He was probably the least competitive person in the gaming business that Mask has ever encountered, which made it fun to pound him into the ground.

"...Maaaybe."

"I'll actually play you this time," Aloha offers, and that's something Mask can't say no to. Aloha is absolutely atrocious at Smash Bros, and it's something worth seeing him just run straight off the stage and fall without Mask moving a single inch himself. 

"I hate youuuu." It's not agreeing to anything, but Aloha seems to take it that way.

"Yes! Get your ass out here!" Aloha sounds way too excited now, and Mask can't help but allow a smile to cross his face briefly before shoving it away. 

He groans but opens the door and Aloha immediately grabs him by the wrist and pulls him down the hallway, Mask actually struggling to keep up. He expects Aloha to lead him somewhere weird but the pink Inkling instead tugs him to the game room and plops down in front of the TV. "Okay, I don't remember where the game card is."

"What aaare you doooing?"

Aloha glances up at him. "We're playin' Smash Bros, right? Unless you meant some other Smash Bros. The sexual kind."

Mask kicks a cushion at his face, the other catching it easily. "Shuuut up. Why did youuu drag me ouuut here?" He can't help but let suspicion creep into his tone. There's no way Aloha made him come out just to play Smash Bros after all. He must want something out of this.

Aloha just shrugs. "You haven't left your room in like.." he counts on his fingers, "three days. This is the only way to get you out of your hole."

"Did Army puuut you up tooo this?"

"No." Aloha winks at him. "I just wanna hang with you, man."

Mask makes a face. "Haaang? Thaaat's all?"

"Yeah." The Gal user frowns. "Why? What else would I wanna do?"

"You neeever plaay video gaaames."

"Good time to start, right?" Aloha tosses Mask the player one controller. "Can you teach me how to play?"

Mask stares at him, hands automatically shifting the controller so he's holding it the right way. "Suure?" This is unlike Aloha to do this. He never wants to play video games, instead just performing everything in real life, so why was he being so... nice? Pink Team wasn't hanging out around the corner waiting to prank him, right? Aloha never asked for help either. His pride made it almost impossible for that. Mask looks to make sure Pink Team isn't lying in wait after all before his gaze flicks back to Aloha, who's waiting for him to sit down.

What the shell. He lowers himself next to Aloha as the game boots up and the pink Inkling grins at him so widely, he feels his hearts flutter despite all his best efforts to keep it down.

"You beeetter nooot make meee regret thiis."

4.

"Pssst. Mask. Hey, Mask."

"I haaaate you," he says automatically, and Aloha swats at his arm.

"I didn't even say anythin' other than your name."

"You saaaid it enouuugh times," Mask replies without looking away at his phone.

Aloha huffs at him. "I'm bored."

"Stooop acting like a chiiild."

"Only when you league with me, will I stop."

"I douubt it."

Aloha groans. "Okay, fine you got me there. Look, man, I just want to do somethin'."

"Gooo ask youuur former teammaaates," Mask tells him and Aloha gives him a look.

"My former teammates? Is that all you refer to your own teammates as? Not friends?"

"They're my frieeends," Mask says, and Aloha raises an eyebrow.

"You don't act like it, sometimes. When do you ever hang out with them?"

"When weee need too," is the response. The pink Inkling just shakes his head and Mask gets the impression that he's getting judged. "Whaaat? When was the laaast time _you_ talked to youuur teammates?"

"Today," Aloha says smugly. "Two minutes ago. Scuba is reconning Skipper Pavilion and the girls are leaguing together. You?"  
"Fine. Maybe I haven't taaalked to them in weeeks." Mask isn't sure if recon is something typical of a former member of Pink Team, especially since their attention span dwindled depending on how many attractive people or how many drinks were in the place.

"Thought so." Aloha sounds so smug now that Mask is tempted to push him into the water below them. It wouldn't be so bad to watch the other sink in the water only to haul him out a few minutes later. Of course, he couldn't leave Aloha to drown; Army and Skull would actually murder him if he succeeded in drowning Aloha. And he's sure it's not just because they would be down a team member. Rider isn't someone he wants on the team right now anyway. They already have enough trouble without him.

"So you waaant me to leeeague with you? With youuur formeeer teammates?"

"No, it was a joke." Mask resists the urge to facepalm. "You hate them anyway, right?"

"Weeell yeah."

Aloha raises both arms in exasperation and Mask feels like this is the first time Aloha has ever been annoyed with him instead of the other way around. Or actually, the feeling was mutual. "I wanna hang with you, okay? Is there somethin' bad with that?"

"Not unless youuu have a death wiiish."

"Good point."

They lapse into silence, silence that Mask would normally relish with Aloha's accompaniment, but now it just feels awkward. He breaks it with some difficulty. "Why do youuu want to haaang anyway? We alreaaady plaaayed Smash Bros last weeek."

"That was last week," Aloha says, and the childish whine is back in his voice. "This is _this_ week."

"Why the suuudden need to hang ouut?" Mask asks instead and Aloha flushes for, what Mask assumes, no reason.

"Nevermind. I'll go find Scuba."

As Mask watches Aloha leave, he wonders if he missed out on something.

5.

The Shoal is as crowded as usual and Mask actually has trouble navigating the crowds this time to make it to the Square. Aloha, to his surprise, is waiting for him outside, two Seanwiches on hand. He shoves one in Mask's general direction before chowing down on his own Seanwich.

Mask takes the food gingerly. He doesn't want to eat in public right now and risk getting into a coughing fit so he watches as Aloha inhales the food like he's never eaten before. "Youuu're going to chooke."

Aloha gives him an indignant look before continuing eating. The Seanwich is gone in the span of five minutes.

"Okay, you were sayin'?"

Mask just glares at him, and Aloha gestures to the Seanwich still uneaten and untouched in his hand. "Why aren't you eatin'?"  
"You can haaaave it." Mask tries to give the Seanwich back but Aloha bats it away.

"Dude, you've been in there for half the day. Aren't you hungry?"

"Since wheeen did you becoome such a mooom?" Mask reluctantly lifts the bottom part of his headgear to start eating; Aloha looks satisfied with this. The similarity to Army is so unsettling, Mask actually has to make sure the Inkling in front of him isn't the military Inkling in disguise. 

"About the time when you started keeping body pillows in your room."

Mask chokes, wiping his mouth of the various bread crumbs as Aloha patiently waits for him to finish coughing. "I haaate you. Staaay out of my rooom."

"The door was open," Aloha offers as an excuse and Mask shakes his head at him. The Seanwich could just fly perfectly into the pink Inkling's eye and he'd be gone before anyone noticed, but Mask instead finishes eating before he even bothers to speak to Aloha again.

"You're waaay too nosey."

Aloha makes a face at him. "Pink Team didn't seem to have a problem with it. Army and Skull didn't either."

"My teammaaates invaded my rooom countless tiiimes," Mask says, and before he can say more, Aloha cuts him off.

"So your teammates can enter your room, but I can't? I'm your teammate now, aren't I?"

"Thaaat's different," Mask replies, and he closes his mouth after that. He doesn't need to elaborate that the reason why Cyan Team was allowed in his room was because they were all weebs and gamers and Aloha was neither of those things, therefore liable to judge him for his weird obsessions.

"Well, if you think I'm gonna judge you for strange anime girls then think twice, man," Aloha says, as if he's read Mask's thoughts. "I thought it was pretty interestin', but that's it."

"Don't teeell anyone abooout it," Mask responds and Aloha raises his right hand.

"I solemnly swear on the Great Zapfish my lips are sealed." He gestures to his lips, miming locking it and tossing the key away.

"So youuu won't taaalk anymore? Whaaat a relief."

Aloha's lips are immediately unlocked and unsealed. "You know that's not what I mean."

Mask lets out a breathy laugh, because the other is insufferable. It's definitely not because of the adorable grimace now apparent on Aloha's face. Adorable? Aloha? Those are two words Mask has never associated before, but it feels... right for some reason.

Speaking of Aloha, the pink Inkling is watching him now with a slight smile on his face, and Mask composes himself immediately, shooting the other a glare. "Whaaaat?"

Aloha just grins at him, and then faster than Mask's eyes can follow, he darts forward and pecks him on the lips where his headgear still has left his face exposed before darting away through the Square.

Mask is too stunned to shout after him.

+1.

He forgets about that incident with Aloha until a few weeks later when he finds the pink Inkling sitting silently in the Shoal, staring at an arcade flashing the player mode screen.

"Hey Mask," he says as the cyan Inkling gets closer, and Mask blinks. How did Aloha know he was here?

"You seeem to have eyes oooon the back of youuur head," he says as he moves to sit next to Aloha. The other doesn't look at him, the screen reflecting in his irises. 

"Maybe I do. You never know."

They sit there awkwardly while Mask ponders this new development. Aloha is being awfully quiet, and while any other day he'd be glad for the sudden change, he can't suppress the worry gnawing at his gut.

"I don't suppooose you have any spare chaaange on youuu for this gaaame," he says more out of need to clear the silence. He doesn't really want to play this old timey game, and Aloha still isn't the absolute best in video games, but if it'll get a smile back on the other's face, it would be worth it.

That thought disgusts him. Since when did he want people to smile? And Aloha, of all people, the one person who only stopped smiling to complain, and even then had the bright and cheerful look in his eyes. 

Aloha merely shrugs, tossing a coin onto the arcade screen. "You can go ahead if you wanna. I don't want to play."

"Dooo you not have enouuugh money?" Conversation isn't Mask's strong suit and he has no idea how to ask if Aloha is doing okay; even then, he's not exactly sure if he'll get an honest response.

"Nah, practically rollin' in it. It's just not worth my effort."

Still no smile. No jabs or anything either. The glow from the screen is overwhelming Aloha's eyes, so Mask can't tell if the brightness there is because he's just -- well, just Aloha -- or if the illuminated pixels are teasing him.

He can't take this new Aloha, even if under different circumstances he'd be glad for it.

"Have you ever liked someone before?" The question is so random, so sudden, that Mask stares at him for a moment before responding.

"I'm the laaast person youuu should ask." It's true, in all honesty, because Mask's knowledge on feelings extends to the basic five emotions. He can't be asked to describe anything else, and romance is definitely not his area of expertise. What's more is that _Aloha_ is asking him, and Mask can't exactly refer the pink Inkling to himself for advice.

Aloha turns to him, finally, and the blankness in his eyes makes him look almost dead inside. "You wouldn't know if you like someone?"

Mask just shrugs. "I dooon't pay attentiooon to those thiiings."

"Well." Aloha looks down at his lap. Another change, Mask notices, shrewd eyes picking out each detail. He's pretty sure Aloha never avoids eye contact, never asks these questions to the wrong people, and definitely never goes this long without a joke of some kind. "Do you think you _could_ like someone? If you were given all knowledge of what it feels like, at least."

"Probaaably."

"What would you look for in that person?"

This is something that Mask doesn't expect. Why is Aloha asking him his preference? The very slim chance that Aloha liked _him_ came to mind but Mask pushes it away without a second thought. There was no way. Still, he should answer this as truthfully as he can, because something about the way Aloha is acting makes him feel upset, like lying will just make everything worse.

"Respeeect for me," is all he can think of at the moment. "Noothing else. If I waaant them to beee quiet then it'd be niiice. Buuuut nothing tooo specific, reeeally."

He has never been in a relationship before, except that one disastrous date he had when he was fourteen. Never again. But he's never given relationships an in-depth analysis for what he actually wanted for a partner, and that fact alone makes him feel a bit put on the spot.

"So what would you say if I told you I liked you? Like like you."

Well. Mask could anticipate a lot of what Aloha could possibly say next, but this wasn't one of the outcomes. The words take a minute to sink in.

"What?"

Aloha looks a bit put off now. "I like you, Mask. Like, crush on you and the whole shabang deal, y'know?"

Mask blinks twice before his mouth opens. "I thiiink that's the wooorst decision youuu could eveeer make."

The look on Aloha's face makes Mask immediately regret everything he just said. "Maybeee I like you baaaack. Maybe."

The truth is, he has no complete handle on his emotions and obviously, he's been hating Aloha ever since he met him so why--

Oh. Oh no. Mask is familiar with those characteristics. No, no he hasn't been hating Aloha since the beginning, he's been _crushing_ on him.

"Scraatch that," he corrects himself as Aloha opens his mouth to speak. "I do liiike you baaack."

"You do?" The light is beginning to creep back into the other's eyes now, and with it comes realization for all of the pink Inkling's actions. The brainless tenta missile save, the need to play Smash Bros, the Seanwich and sudden appearance at the Shoal. All of it was Aloha's stupid way of telling Mask that he liked him.

"Yeah. Youuu could've juuust asked toooo spend tiiime togeeether."

Aloha snorts, a grin appearing on his face; Mask feels his own lips stretching into a smile in response. "But you hate me."

"No. I dooon't."

He's not even lying as he says that.

**Author's Note:**

> mask is such a tsundere he doesn't even know he's a tsundere


End file.
